Monthly Archives: May 2013

This is just a friendly reminder to all players on our server of the following rule:

“No malicious client mods or hacks.”

What constitutes a “malicious” mod or hack? A malicious mod is one that allows the player to:

Circumvent or disrupt the normal operation of Bukkit plugins, such as WorldGuard region protections.

Use banned items, such as invisibility potions.

Use overpowered items that cannot be normally created, such as “god armor”, high-powered weapons, or long-lasting potions.

Cause lag spikes and/or cause other players to drop from the server.

Perform actions at faster speeds, such as breaking blocks faster or flying faster.

There are some client mods that we consider not malicious, and these include mods that:

Improve the FPS of the player’s client, such as Optifine.

Provide a mini-map on the client screen or other navigational device, such as Rei’s Mini-map.

Provide the player with x-ray vision. This is a freebuild creative server, so this sort of ability is generally useless anyway.

Generally don’t cause any detriment to the server, or the experience of other players on the server.

Any player caught using a malicious mod will be subject to a formal warning or possible ban from the server. If you are unsure whether the mod you use might be considered malicious, please contact your nearest staff member or e-mail the admins at admin (at) minecartrapidtransit.net for clarification.

If you look at our Dynmap right now, you’ll notice that there are a few lines missing: the MRT Green, Blue and Red lines are currently not on the map.

This week I will be redrawing these lines and updating the station markers to reflect the changes that have been made to the system. The MRT lines will be back by the end of the week, with all of the stations and lines just the way they were (properly layered this time).

I will also be drawing some smaller metros on dynmap, but they will be hidden by default. Hopefully this will include roads as well. My planned list at the moment includes:

For those interested in playing PVP between June 17 and June 30, we will be having an anniversary-celebrating tournament during that time period! The full rules and setup will be posted here within a couple of days, but it you know you want to play, here’s how it works:

– Single elimination
– 1v1 PVP in Wishington’s arenas
– Members and up only
– Matches are run using PVPArena, and must be done in my presence

The server has been updated to Minecraft 1.5.2, using the Bukkit 1.5.2-R0.1 beta build. All the issues regarding empty minecart detectors have been fixed in this Bukkit version, so the MRT system and other rail systems should now be working again.

Also, the proposed rules have now come into effect. You can check out the new rules on the Rules page, but the changes are as follows:

New statements regarding player responsibility and staff rule enforcement

In addition to the introduction to the rules, the following two statements will be added:

By connecting to the MRT server, you accept responsibility to abide by the following rules and policies at all times. You are also responsible for your own Minecraft account and all actions performed by that account.

These rules are designed to cover most situations, however not everything can be anticipated. Staff members reserve the right to take appropriate action for any behavior or action deemed unacceptable for the server and community.

Changes to General Rules:

“Do not ask staff for teleports.” becomes “Do not excessively ask for teleports, WorldEdits, or MRT Station repairs.”

“No griefing or trolling.” becomes “No griefing.”

“Do not ask in chat to become a member, moderator, or administrator.” becomes “Do not ask to become a staff member.”

New Rule: “Do not ask staff in-game about the status of your member application. We will get to it when we have time.”

Removed Rule: “No placement or usage of banned items.”

Changes to MRT Rider Rules:

This section and all of its rules will be removed. Staff rarely enforce these rules, and when someone violates them, they usually aren’t worth giving a warning for.

Changes to General Construction Rules:

Rules regarding the construction of roads and rail lines have been moved to their own dedicated sections below:

New Section – Road Construction Rules:

All roads are considered to be semi-private builds. This means that while road owners have some control of their roads, they must be willing to allow any player to make minor changes to their road without prior permission from the road owner.

Minor changes can include, but are not exhaustive to, the following:

Constructing a new building next to a road

Modifying sidewalks, signage, fencing, and other aspects of a road to accommodate a new building next to a road

Constructing a new side road off an existing road (includes new intersections)

Major changes to a road without permission are considered an act of griefing and will be punished accordingly. Major changes can include, but are not exhaustive to, the following:

Removing a road

Diverting the road in a different direction

Making a minor change that serves no obvious purpose

Making an excessive amount of minor changes

Administrators reserve the right to determine what is a “minor” change and what is a “major” change.

Also, any player may build roads, but any new roads must adhere to the following construction guidelines:

Roads must be reasonably realistic (ie: not floating high in the air with no pillars, or paved with cake)

Roads must not disrupt or be built too close to existing builds belonging to other players, unless you have prior permission from the other player.

Before connecting a road to a town, you must have the permission from the mayor of that town beforehand.

Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in the removal of the road by an administrator, and the road builder being formally warned or banned by an administrator.

New section – Rail Line Construction Rules

All player-built rail lines (including the MRT) are private builds. Players who purposefully modify another player’s rail line without permission, or build structures that purposely disrupt the user experience of the line’s riders, will be punished accordingly.

Any player may build rail lines, but any new rail lines must adhere to the following construction guidelines:

Rail lines must be reasonably realistic (ie: not floating high in the air with no pillars)

Rail lines must not disrupt or be built too close to existing builds belonging to other players, unless you have prior permission from the other player.

Before connecting a rail line to a town, you must have the permission from the mayor of that town beforehand.

Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in the removal of the rail line by an administrator, and the rail line builder being formally warned or banned by an administrator.

Changes to Building Restrictions:

No changes at the time. New airports will continue to be banned, but at some point we may lift the ban so that people can connect their towns using warp signs to the Regional or International Airport. It has been suggested that lifting the ban on new airports will only happen once the International Airport has been completed.

Changes to Banned and Allowed items:

This section will be rewritten as follows:

The following items and blocks are not allowed:

Lava Buckets

Invisibility and Splash Invisibility Potions

Ender Pearls

Eggs

The following items and blocks are allowed only for [Trusted] members and above:

Water Buckets

Spawn Eggs

Ice

Fireworks

The following items and blocks are allowed, but have certain restrictions:

Fire is allowed, but does not spread.

TNT is allowed, but does not cause damage or explode.

Sponge is allowed, but does not drain water.

Dispensers are allowed, but they cannot be used to dispense water, lava, or spawn eggs.

The staff members and I have finally come up with a final draft for the proposed rule changes to the server. We believe that these changes will make the rules clearer and easier to understand, and we also believe we’ve found a compromise that makes all sides happy in the infamous “road/rail debate” that has happened in the last few weeks.

Please read the whole document, and we would appreciate if you could send your feedback (both positive and negative) to the administrators by e-mail at admin [at] minecartrapidtransit.net. The proposal will be available to the public for about one week, and if the feedback to this proposal is generally positive, we will be bringing these rules into effect soon afterward.

Thank you to all members and staff members who have provided their feedback up to this point and contributed to this document. I hope these changes will be acceptable by most of you, and we can move forward from this debate and go on to do greater and more fun things as a community.